Many Outraged by Mayo Clinic’s Change to Volunteer Parking

The headline I wanted to use for this article was, “Mayo Clinic Chances Volunteer Parking Rules, Rochester Loses Its Collective Mind,” but was told I was being inflammatory. And they were correct. So I changed it up.

There are a BUNCH of volunteers at Mayo Clinic. Many of them are over 65. On March 22nd, a notice went out that said, basically, starting April 1st volunteers with shifts before 1:30 PM will not have access to free Mayo downtown parking. They were asked to use outlying Mayo lots and use the shuttles to get to their location.

A little more than a week notice doesn’t sound like the best, honestly. Two weeks or a month for folks that need to get their alternate plans set would have been better. However, on that PB post, the OUTRAGE™ was alarming.

and

These were two of the highlights in the post below, I think they hold the energy and anger (?) some people felt over the change. Many people said the volunteers are older, so it's cruel/mean/heartless to make them park further away.

Then there's this one, a response from someone that isn't excited about the change but recognizes it's not really OUTRAGE™ time. In fact, I think there's a much better way to handle this.

A WIN WIN FOR ALL

We so often hear people complain about the younger generation feeling entitled to something. This would be a wonderful opportunity to model our expectations for their behavior.

I totally get it is disappointing to lose a privilege you've enjoyed for quite some time. Parking is one of the great problems in Rochester. And if we think about it, parking at an offsite lot, waiting for the shuttle, and getting delivered to the front door of your destination isn't the worst thing in the world. 

It's also a great time to show younger people how to deal with issues...

"Gramma, that sucks you have to go to the shuttle lot."

 

-It sure does, but patients need those spots more than I do, and if it gets to be too much for me, I'll find a volunteer gig I can get to more easily. There's lots of people need help."

PS - And Mayo, could we get some more frequent shuttles so folks don't have to wait too long in bad weather?

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